The purpose of this webinar is to introduce teachers, administrators, board mathematics leads, and others to the Lessons Learned document for M4 and how to use it. The document is intended as a support for all elementary teachers, in particular grades Primary – Grade 3 teachers. There are three Lessons Learned in this document. Each Lesson Learned will be discussed in relation to the assessment results, expected pedagogy, next steps in instruction for a class or individual students, and appropriate methods and activities for assessing student learning. The document is a wonderful support for professional development.

Equality is one of the essential understandings that students must acquire as they learn mathematics. This is a quest that begins in grade Primary and continues into senior high school. Learn how this big idea unfolds from grades Primary to 3 and discover how this one big idea can set students up for ongoing mathematical success. Topics explored during this webinar will include equality as balance; how equality is tied to partitioning and part-whole reasoning; common misconceptions about equality; and the types of tasks that build the concept of equality.

In this first segment, we introduce the major topics for our series - Oral Language, Planning, Assessment, and Cross Curricular Work - all through the lens of a play-based curriculum. Our featured teachers also discuss ways in which they establish routines, select materials, and infuse playfulness into everything they do. The teachers discuss the importance of play-based learning and their decision to make play an integral part of the learning experience for their students.

Talk is critical to learning and play-based learning offers many diverse ways for students to use talk as a vehicle for learning. In this segment, teachers share and demonstrate tips, tools, and techniques for embedding and encouraging talk opportunities within every learning experience. We will see students problem solving, planning, playing games, and sharing their learning. Our teachers discuss both the incidental and deliberately structured opportunities they provide for their students.

In this two-part segment, our teachers discuss and demonstrate how they establish routines, integrate outcomes into a play-based curriculum, set up and manage flexible and varied learning zones, and ensure a balance between choice and more formal learning opportunities. This combination of routines, careful planning, use of engaging materials, and effective teaching helps students become highly engaged in their own learning. Through this engagement, they develop stamina and the ability to self-regulate. As they move toward developmentally appropriate independence, we see students taking responsibility for their own learning and for the environment in which this learning occurs.

In this two-part segment, our teachers discuss and demonstrate how they establish routines, integrate outcomes into a play-based curriculum, set up and manage flexible and varied learning zones, and ensure a balance between choice and more formal learning opportunities. This combination of routines, careful planning, use of engaging materials, and effective teaching helps students become highly engaged in their own learning. Through this engagement, they develop stamina and the ability to self-regulate. As they move toward developmentally appropriate independence, we see students taking responsibility for their own learning and for the environment in which this learning occurs.